MAET's Impact on becoming a lifelong learner
For this specific reflection essay, I chose not to have an image of myself teaching to greet the viewer to this section of the portfolio. Though this certainly will be an essay about my growth as an educator, it also is about the specific impact of the MAET program on my perceptions about education. One of the most influential aspects about MAET from my perspective is the emphasis they place on reflecting and documenting our practice. In this specific essay I will focus on several classes that had a major influence on my work and try to provide specific examples as well. Therefore, in essence, this essay is more about the role of MAET in convincing me to become a lifelong learner, than about the specific practices I have learned and hope to learn that have been mentioned in the previous essays. The classes, instructors, and assessments that have framed this specific program have taught me the importance of design and planning when it comes to all aspects of teaching, not just in the implementation of technology. Specifically, the importance of considering the balance that should exist in our content choices, pedagogical approaches, and use of technology in the classroom.
CEP 810- Building a personal growth planNaturally, the first course in this essay to be discussed is the first class of the program, CEP 810. In this class, instructor Caroline McCarthy challenged the students to think about their purpose in the program and start to build a personal growth plan that continued to grow each week in the program. One of my specific focuses throughout the program is how to introduce and teach my students proper historical research through the use of technology. Throughout my professional growth plan I mentioned this as a specific focus and in the reflection at the end of the assignment I continued to identify this as a major issue that I wanted to explore. Caroline was essential in encouraging me to use this as a motivator and allowed me to identify ways I could succeed in this area by working with classmates and colleagues. For example, in our group assignment based on a special interest (SIG- Special Interest Group project) the group assignment discussed multiple ways that a classroom could be flipped to benefit our students. In my specific focus area I was able to use primary documents and discuss the importance of their use in a historical discussion. In my practice, this is a necessary first step in introducing students to a way to discuss historical research. By flipping the class, this project gave me more time and resources to have this discussion with my students.
The collaboration and encouragement that existed in CEP 810 allowed me the confidence and skills to build assessments that focused on research and technology. Specifically, the Special Interest Group Project gave me experience in working in a professional community and provided me additional resources to help me fulfill my goals. Since the completion of this class, I have often collaborated with my colleagues to produce assessments that consider technological outcomes that are based on historical research. One example of the skills learned in CEP 810 is a project created by a history colleague and myself to help students understand early river valley civilizations. The students do individual research on examples of river valley civilizations, the different professions that exist, provide information to their classmates, and then build a model example using MineCraft Edu as a way to display their work in a living biome. Throughout CEP 810 the ability to reflect on what I wanted to accomplish and the opportunity to work with classmates in a professional atmosphere set the stage to accomplish similar work in my school on a daily basis. |
CEP 812- The importance of detailsIf CEP 810 taught me the importance of reflection and collaboration, CEP 812 provided the importance of detail in these areas as well. In this specific course I owe a personal thank you to instructor Alison Lee Keller for pushing me harder than any instructor has previously. Certainly it was frustrating in the moment, but Alison’s insistence that each aspect of an assignment be considered taught me the necessity of fixing a problem when it arises and paying attention to the details of the classroom. Most specifically, these skills manifested themselves in a multi-assignment project related to a problem that we recognized in the classroom. We were supposed to identify this “Wicked Problem” and come up with a solution. This problem was to be addressed in a multimedia approach and tested our skills in assessing a classroom issue and using multiple modes to come up with a solution.
For my personal “Wicked Problem” I considered the amount of time that exists in the classroom to complete quality project-based work, while still considering my program-wide focus on historical research. As I completed this project, I noticed the importance and connection of the skills I learned in CEP 810, as reflecting and discussing the issue with classmates and my instructor helped me improve my understanding of how to solve the problem. As a result, of the multi-stepped assessment, I was able to:
As I stated at the beginning of this portion of the essay, the importance of detail was greatly considered. Due to the excellent feedback provided by Alison I took a great deal away from this class about how to attack an issue and provide feedback for improvement. In addition, this class continued to tie into the reflection portion of CEP 810 by considering if our personal growth plan had changed significantly from CEP 810 to CEP 812. Since these three introductory courses set the tone for the rest of the program, it was an excellent way for me to consider how much I had changed since the beginning of the program. Due to the skills I acquired new goals and outcomes needed to be addressed. This assignment really marked my first detailed assessment as my future as a lifelong learner. |
Year 2 Summer Cohort-
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The Capstone Class-
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Backwards Planning, Forward Thinking...
Reflection is a difficult process. It makes us consider the places where we have succeeded, but more often than not it makes us consider where there is more work to be done. In this essay, I presented the framework of classes, assessments, and most specifically instructors that have impacted my thinking in the field of Educational Technology. The most interesting aspect of looking back to the beginning of the program was that they told us point blank this would be the culminating assessment. From that point forward I have been planning its creation with the help of my instructors. Though the framework was concretely constructed in the year 2 cohort, the plan was set in motion even prior to starting CEP 810. Now that the program is complete, I’ve fulfilled (mostly) my obligations for recertification; it is time to consider what the next steps are going forward. However, the confidence I have gained from this program and the tools its provided will certainly help me make the right decision.